By a 47-1 vote, Telluride鈥檚 ski patrollers voted to unionize, Sunday. The National Labor Relations Board office in Denver counted mail-in ballots on Thursday.
The patrollers will become members of the Communications Workers of America鈥檚 District 7. Changes to pay and work responsibilities will now be negotiated with the resort through the union.
Telluride communications manager Pepper Raper indicated some resistance on the part of the resort before the vote. 鈥淲e are just trying to work with them to understand their concerns and the drive behind this,鈥 she said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 necessarily think we need a third party to tell us or tell them what鈥檚 best.鈥
But Raper said the resort would not resist the patroller鈥檚 unionization efforts after the vote. 鈥淭elski respects the decision of the Telluride Ski Patrol to be represented by the CWA District 7,鈥 she told the Daily Planet.
The Telluride patrollers were not the first to choose union representation. The Communications Workers of America already represents patrollers at Steamboat, Crested Butte, and the Canyons.